Monday Notebook: Beaty is gone, and a pick for Michigan State

1. Change is coming for KU football

The Jayhawks lost to Iowa State 27-3 on Saturday. It was boring. There’s your football recap.

OH, WAIT! I BRING GOOD NEWS. DAVID BEATY “WILL NOT BE RETAINED” AFTER THIS SEASON. POP THE CHAMPAGNE! START DANCING IN THE STREETS! IT’S NEW FOOTBALL COACH TIME IN LAWRENCE!!!

Jeff Long hosted a press conference on Sunday to make the announcement. In all seriousness, David Beaty is a good dude, he’s just a bad football coach. I hope he finds another job soon. Now, let’s call Brett Bielema and see what he’s up to.

2. Kansas Basketball vs Exhibition Opponents

KU took on Emporia State and Washburn in this year’s exhibition contests. Against ESU, the Jayhawks won easily by a score of 93-55. Dedric Lawson was the highlight for Kansas, as he scored 31 points and collected 15 rebounds, six of which were on offense. He dominated in all facets on offense. Lawson went 2-4 from three and 7-9 from the free throw line. He looked like a force to be reckoned with, even if it was only Emporia State. In game two against Washburn, which Kansas won 79-52, Lawson was slowed slightly but still played well, going for 18 points, six boards, and a perfect 4-4 from three. It looks like he’s the number one scoring option for the Jayhawks, and he also looks like a capable ball handler.

Speaking of ball handlers, Kansas has guard talent for days. Freshman guard Quentin Grimes put up ten points against ESU but just seven against Washburn. Grimes has flashed a silky smooth scoring ability but also missed easy shots and looked a little out of sync. He’s dripping with talent though. Fellow freshman Devon Dotson scored eight and six respectively, along with six total assists between the two games. I absolutely love Dotson. I think he should start tomorrow night against Michigan State and every game after. Charlie Moore, the California transfer, also looked solid. He is a great three point shooter as promised, hitting four threes between the two games.

There is debate over who should start at point guard between Moore, Dotson, and even Marcus Garrett. I’m fully on team Dotson, but I think any of the three would do a great job. Dotson just seems like the most talented guy all around. Lagerald Vick had a solid two games and seems to have solidified his starting spot. KJ Lawson was relatively unimpressive as he went just 1-10 from behind the arc.

Down low, Udoka Azubuike had about as rough of a game as I’ve seen him have against Emporia State. He looked completely frazzled and beaten as they continually double teamed him. Udoka certainly bounced back against Washburn, scoring 17 points and hitting FIVE, yes I said FIVE, free throws. It was glorious to watch. Mitch Lightfoot was Mitch Lightfoot. That’s arguably more than you need to know. David McCormack looked out of sorts for the most part. He at least rebounded fairly well but wasn’t great otherwise. Silvio De Sousa did not play and probably won’t for the entire season, if we’re being honest.

3. Kansas vs. Michigan State Preview

Kansas tips of the season Tuesday night against Michigan State in the Champions Classic. We’ll finally get to see this team in real game action. Hopefully there will be less turnovers and more made threes. My starting lineup projection would be Devon Dotson – Quentin Grimes – Lagerald Vick – Dedric Lawson – Udoka Azubuike. The Spartans are a talented team as well. They are led by players such as Joshua Langford, Nick Ward, and Cassius Winston.

MSU has solid role players as well in Matt McQuaid and Kenny Goins. I think these two teams are evenly matched for the most part. Kansas seems to be the deeper and more talented team, but not by much. I think this will be a hard fought game, and I’ll say Kansas wins, 75-73.